China, the EU and International Investment Law Reforming Investor-State Dispute Settlement

This book provides an original and critical analysis of the most contentious subjects being negotiated in the China–EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI). It focuseson the pathway of reforming investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) from both Chinese and European perspectives in the context of the China–EU CAI and beyond. The book is divided into three parts. Part I examines key and controversial issues of the China–EU CAI negotiations, including market access, sustainable development and human rights, as well as comparing distinct features between the China–EU CAI and the China–US BIT. Part II concentrates on the institutional reform of investor-state arbitration with an extensive analysis of the EU’s approach to replacing the private nature of investment arbitration with the public nature of an investment court. Part III addresses the core substantive and procedural issues concerning ISDS, such as the role of domestic courts in investment dispute settlement, the status of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as investors, transparency and the protection of victims in investment dispute resolution. This book will be of interest to scholars and practitioners in the field of international investment and trade law, particularly investment dispute settlement.

1. Introduction: Opportunities and Challenges Towards a China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment YUWEN LI and CHENG BIAN; Part I: China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment: Core Issues; 2. The China-EU Investment Agreement Negotiations: Rationale, Motivations and Contentious Issues AXEL BERGER; 3. Convergences and Divergences in the China-EU and the China-US BIT Negotiations HONGYU FU and MENG WAN; 4. Elements of Public Policy in the Making of the China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment CHENG BIAN and YUWEN LI; 5. Bridging the Gap between Investments and Human Rights Protection: Prospects and Challenges for the China-EU CAI MATTHIEU BURNAY; Part II: Reforming ISDS: Institutional Aspects; 6. Judicialization of ISDS: The European Union’s Approach to Multilateral Reform of Investment Dispute Settlement COLIN BROWN and ELIO GAARTHUIS; 7. Concrete Issues in Instituting an International Investment Court JUN XIAO; 8. Reforming ISDS: A Chinese Perspective HUIPING CHEN; 9. China’s Policy on ISDS Reform: Institutional Choice in a Diversified Era TONG QI; 10. Investor-State Arbitration: An Economics and Empirical Perspective MICHAEL FAURE and WANLI MA; Part III: Reforming ISDS: Substantive and Procedural Aspects; 11. European Perspectives on the Role of National Courts in the Resolution of Investor-State Disputes VID PRISLAN; 12. Is (In)Consistency a Problem? - A Close Look at Juridical Techniques in Interpreting Jurisdiction Clauses in Chinese BIT Cases WEI SHEN; 13. Transparency of ISDS in the Making of a China-EU CAI: Consensus and Differences MANJIAO CHI; 14. The Status of State-Owned Enterprises in ISDS from an EU Perspective ALESSANDRO SPANO; 15. The Status of State-Owned Enterprises in ISDS from a Chinese Perspective SHENG ZHANG; 16. Protection of Victims in International Investment Dispute Resolution: Juxtaposing Different Topics? MARTIJN SCHELTEMA; 17. A Comprehensive Chapter on Anti-Corruption in the China-EU CAI: A Progressive or an Unnecessary Step? YUEMING YAN;

Yuwen Li is a professor of Chinese law and the director of the Erasmus China Law Centre at the Erasmus School of Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Tong Qi is a professor of international economic law and the director of the Centre of Overseas Investment Law at the Law School of Wuhan University, China. Cheng Bian is a researcher at the Erasmus School of Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands.